Story: The truth is out there, as “The X Files” stated
categorically at the beginning of each episode that dealt with
extraterrestrials or just weird monsters running amok on planet
Earth. And Robin, leader of a motley group self-described as the
“Utah Alien Chasers,” has fervently devoted her life to finding
evidence that visitors from outer space walk among us or at least
drop by from time to time.

It’s a largely thankless and unfulfilling job, though, as
Robin struggles to survive on menial wages to pay for a basement
office in a Utah tenant house, surrounded by non-believers,
ne’er-do-wells and hangers-on. Once and future lover Beau doesn’t
seem to have much ambition for anything except getting in Robin’s
way while he passes time with his Hooters girlfriend Jessie. The
other familiar face in this erratic ensemble is Gary, an older man
whose alcoholism has banished him from the home he shared with his
wife and 12-year-old daughter.

After a night of stumbling and staggering about, Gary and
Beau bring back to the basement a prized possession: A real-life
alien who looks a lot like a little boy dressed in a dinosaur
costume. When they tell Robin what’s hidden in their closet, she
takes a leap of faith that at long last she has proof that will
validate her quest and propel her to a life of achievement among
the celestial stars.

Highlights: Playwright Lauren Dusek Albonico first wrote this
two-act comedy while a student at Washington University. A
finalist for HotCity’s 2009 Greenhouse New Play Festival, it is
making its world premiere in a production directed by HotCity
associate director Annamaria Pileggi. HotCity’s focus is on
“contemporary programming and new play development,” and this
quirky work fits the bill nicely

Other Info: While the premise of “Intelligent Life” is
intriguing, it’s crucial for an audience to keep in mind the play’s
title. Just as Bones McCoy regularly would tell Captain Kirk of
“Star Trek” that “There’s no intelligent life on this planet,” so
too do Gary, Beau and Jesse display a stunning lack of brain
power. When contrasted with the genius IQ of young Aethan, that
can be humorous, but there’s also cruelty in these characters,
particularly Beau, that is more venal than amusing. As a result,
the mood of “Intelligent Life” switches from comic to tragic in its
second act, with the resultant consequences.

Pileggi coaxes convincing performances out of her highly
capable ensemble, and moves the show along quickly enough to almost
avoid some of the annoyingly problematic plot elements (such as why
two grown men would continue to keep a 10-year-old boy kidnapped,
even if he enjoys the break from his life as a genius with amazing
abilities that perplex his abductors). There’s far too much
interlude between scenes, however, which only exacerbates various
plot problems.

There’s excellent work by Aarya Sara Locker as Robin, a
woman who desperately needs faith in something to elevate her
humdrum existence. A scene when Robin is tranquilized is
particularly funny as Locker contorts her voice and mouth in
Robin’s agitated state.

Kevin Beyer once again delivers a precisely etched
interpretation of a muddled man with plenty of foibles. In one of
the many narrative asides uttered by the characters to the audience
a la “The Office,” Beyer offers a poignant appraisal of Gary’s life
that reached its nadir when he showed up drunk at his daughter’s
birthday party. He’s equally adept at the broad comedy inherent in
Gary’s confused condition.

Young Parker Donovan shows a nimble and comfortable grasp of
his character’s possibilities and proves himself just as capable as
his older colleagues. Emily Fisher and Scott Schneider have their
moments as the Hooters waitress and the unambitious Beau,
respectively, but Schneider is limited with what he can do with
such an unsavory part. Alan McClintock completes the cast as a
bullish police officer apprehending the kidnapping suspects.

Otis Sweezey’s set design is an amusing mishmash of decrepit
furniture and a collection of appropriate knickknacks such as a
“Star Wars” poster and an alien mobile hanging from the ceiling,
and Michael Sullivan’s lighting accentuates Aethan’s remarkable
talents to affect electricity. Jane Sullivan’s costumes emphasize
the depressing squalor of the “Utah Alien Chasers,” while Matt
Koch’s sound design incorporates familiar chords from such sci-fi
favorites as “Alien,” “Star Wars” and “The X Files” to set the
mood.

Albonico’s script is clever and cunning much of the time,
and with some fine-tuning, particularly with Beau’s character,
could make for an even more interesting observation about the human
beings whom extraterrestrials must find quite puzzling.